The Agency Growth Podcast

In our... somewhat Christmas episode, we got in the spirit of giving in which this week we give you some of the biggest game changes for our agencies that really impacted our growth, the value we offer to our clients, and our overall well-being.If you want to get to the meat of the episode, skip to 8:30.There are countless things we've implemented in our agency that have helped us grow, but in this episode, we talk about 8 things that changed the game for us. Those things include:PartneringGetting featured in industry publicationsGetting on industry podcastsLeaving the day jobBeing strict about who we partner withTemplating websitesHiring the right people (and positions)Documenting processes----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

Everyone always says how important it is for you to document your processes, but rarely do they talk about how they do it or what the most efficient way to do it is.In this episode, we talk about how we found massive growth and process improvement after our processes were not only documented but defined as well as how we went about doing it in a way that really didn't take too much time from us.Learn more about our rules of documentation that all of our employees must follow whenever they document a process as well as an extremely quick way to have an employee document a process they've never done before.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

This is a question we struggled with for the first couple of years of our business. Initially, we thought we wanted our first hire to be someone that would be good at performing the services we weren't adept at ourselves. We figured this would help grow the business as we could sell those services and then offload the work to them.However, we soon realized that the best thing to do would be to hire someone that gave us our time back. But we f***ed that up too.In this episode, we reflect on who the right person to hire is for your very first employee (or maybe your first contractor or outsourced work).Picking the first role you fill is the most important thing you can do while growing your business to the point where you can exit the day-to-day and work on the business rather than in the business.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

You either started or are starting your agency as a subject matter expert, that is, you are a self-proclaimed expert in whatever thing you're selling. But over time, the harsh reality is that as you grow, you will start to lose your subject matter expertise.As you document your processes and hire new people to replace the in-field work you're doing, you start to focus on things that aren't so fun about running a business like:OperationsHRResearch and Development (R&D)Managing peopleetcThe thing you were the expert in is being passed on to people who work for you who are now doing that thing every day -- and you're not.If you want to grow outside of the day-to-day work, you have to come to terms with the idea that you will at some point no longer be the expert in the field, but rather, an expert at growing an agency.Unless of course... the thing you sell is your actual hobby.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

In this episode, we discuss the main problem with most digital marketers and agency owners -- which is they don't really seem to want to learn anything new and they're stuck in their ways.This leads to antiquated practices still being utilized and a lack of testing things to see if they actually work.Most digital marketers in the industry read a case study performed by someone else and accept it as fact not taking into account the credibility of that case study, the sample size, the date it was performed, or even the industry it related to.Overall, Jake thinks most digital marketers are lazy. A true digital marketer takes everything they see and hear with a grain of salt. The typical digital marketer butts heads with peers -- they speak as if they know everything, but they need to listen as if they know nothing.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

We got a little off track right away in this episode and it turned into an episode of its own.Everyone has the same amount of time in a day yet some people always seem to get more work done than us. How do they do it?We talk about the sacrifices we've made in our daily lives to be able to focus on getting work done and scaling the agency. Jake set the Xbox controller down and Cody doesn't own a TV. Sometimes these are the choices we make in order to make ourselves focus on work...Sometimes work is so important and plentiful that we don't even realize we've put our hobbies down.Either way, at some point, we have to figure out what is truly most important to us because we aren't getting more time in our days.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

In this episode, Jake points out some fallacies when it comes to agency owners trying to find work and where they try to find it.There's a common belief that agency owners should be everywhere at all times (Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, etc) in order to get in front of your potential clients, but that just isn't true. It's honestly a waste of your time.When you're first starting out, you might have nothing better to do than to post to every social platform out there and that's okay -- but at some point, you'll see which platforms are most ideal to find work and when you do, you need to double down on that platform.Different agency models in different industries favor different platforms. It's important for you to find out where your top platform is and we talk about how we found ours.Jake talks about which platforms worked best for Evergrow to acquire its first clients and Cody brings up freelance websites like Fiverr and UpWork.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

Cody hates Thanksgiving, and it's only a week away. So I thought it'd be funny if we did a Thanksgiving episode just to annoy him.First, I get that Thanksgiving episodes are boring; That's why we decided to make an appropriately themed episode that actually provides value rather than get all sappy about what we're thankful for.The things we're thankful for range from having a partner to take the burden off of your shoulders to having sought out and found a mentor that you can go to with questions regarding your business or industry.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

DISCLAIMER: #1: If you don't want to hear about Jake's engagement story then skip to the 9:45 mark to get to the meat of the content (you're welcome)!DISCLAIMER #2: Cody is recovering from the flu and Jake is running on 2hrs and 47 minutes of sleep after getting back from Mexico. Both of us sound like we're going to die in this episode.Today we talk about burnout and how it's inevitable for anyone who wants anything bad enough.Google defines burnout as:“...a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed." However, we both disagree with this definition for different reasons.Burnout comes in many forms and oftentimes isn't something that's always in your control. This means, you either have to be the luckiest person alive to avoid it, or you really don't care that much about what you're doing.----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

Ever noticed how all of the gurus, competitors, or your peers only seem to brag about their revenue numbers? Does it have you feeling like you're not as successful or that you should be doing more?You might want to pay closer attention to what they're saying -- you might end up feeling better about yourself.Revenue is one of those numbers that are easy to inflate. If someone spends $1m in ads and makes $10k back, their revenue is $1.01m. That seems like a lot of money until you realize the owner of that company only took home $10k... and that's assuming there were no other expenses. On top of that, they incurred a huge liability! $1m in ad spend!In this episode, we discuss how the only thing you should be concerned about at the end of the day is how profitable your company is. Revenue means nothing if it's not generating a healthy profit margin. Profit margins are what keep businesses around for the long haul.Smart people don't buy businesses that have high revenue numbers, they buy businesses that are profitable.If you're an agency or consultant and don't in inventory or ad spend as much, your profitability comes from your labor hours. Pay attention to how much revenue you're bringing in divided by how many labor hours you're attributing. You may not be as profitable as you think.If you like tangents, you'll love this episode!If you don't... well... at least it's a shorter episode...----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u